External HDD running extremely hot with AC56U

[ahmadtahir]

Hi All!

I had a Linksys E3200, on which I attached a Lacie's 3 TB external HDD. The HDD ran extremely hot within 30 minutes of its operation and I thought that its the routers fault for keeping it always running even when not in use. So I purchased a ASUS AC56U. I thought it would keep cool by running the HDD only when needed, but it's doing the same. It is running so hot that I fear it might die very soon. Can someone please tell me is it safe or should I turn the HDD on only before I actually want to use the HDD?

Regards.

 

[david279]

You should get a new HD drive.

 

[ahmadtahir]

This won't do, I already tried 2 other HDDs at hand. One WD myPassport and a desktop HDD in an external enclosure. WD didn't ran that hot, may be because of plastic enclosure but was spinning all the time nevertheless.

Thanks for the suggestion. Any other suggestions please.

 

[RMerlin]

A lot of things will impact the disk temperature:

- The disk's rotational speed (7200 runs significantly hotter than 5400/5900 drives)
- The number of platters in the disk
- The quality of the case itself
- The build material of the case (I always favor aluminium over plastic, as it does a much better job at dissipating heat)